From Design to Installation: D+M Metal’s Sculpture Work

Did you know that D+M Metal has created many beautiful sculptures? We have done floor sculptures that have been installed in high schools throughout West Michigan and at Camp Roger as well as full sculpture pieces that have been installed in Grand Rapids, Grandville, and places as far away as Orlando, Florida. D+M Metal has worked with a number of artists, including Ed Bouvé and Mary Gillis, to translate their artistic visions into metal, including these:

In 2012 we received a commission from Dwelling Place for their condominium on Hall St. built for seniors. We worked with artist Ed Bouvé to create “Reflections,” a stainless steel mirror image sculpture. This beautiful piece is designed to physically reflect its relationship to Dwelling Place residents.

Vention Medical commissioned a sculpture to interpret their inventions and production of heart surgical instruments. The result is a 25-foot tall stainless steel complex that is mounted on a tall granite pedestal at Seward and Watson St., S.E. in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Enlaced: A Burning Bush,” an 18-foot tall steel and 7-foot wide scupture, stands on the campus of Dordt College in Iowa. Dordt College art professor David Versluis translated his interpretation of Psalm 19 into a metal sculpture. He had this to say about Enlaced:

“The design of this sculpture grows out of the intertwining of a Christian perspective that’s found in Dordt College’s academic community. Gideon Strauss once described that perspective this way: “The love of God evokes—from our whole person and in unity with the whole people of God—a life of worship, a love of our neighbors, and a respectful caring and disclosure of all of creation.”

The seven upright metallic forms of “Enlaced” symbolize both the classic liberal arts and the seven branches of the Hebraic temple lamp stand (which itself is thought to symbolize the burning bush Moses saw as recorded in Exodus 3). D+M Metal engineers translated Versluis’ designs into CNC machine code, cut all of the components, and then welded them together. COR-TEN® steel was used because it will rust to a consistent patina. The effect here looks red very much like a burning bush. The sculpture was sandblasted, then moved to Dordt College where it was welded on site and installed.

If you’ve ever driven by D+M Metal Products at 4994 West River Dr. in Comstock Park, Michigan, you may have seen our own stainless steel sculpture, “Trivium and Quadrivium.” We commissioned this one as an interpretation of our own steel fabrication work.

D+M Metal does a broad spectrum of work with steel, and we can work with any artist to make their ideas become a reality. We are very proud of both the artistry and the usefulness of what our expert engineers and machine operators produce every day, from the practical to the beautiful.

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